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Lighten up a Classic Comfort Food: Mexi Mac & Cheese

Sometimes you get a craving for comfort food. You know what kind of food I am talking about – cheesy, creamy, fluffy, delicious, made-with-love-and-an-extra-helping-of-butter comfort food. Everyone has a different food that is the culinary equivalent of a warm embrace. Mine is cheesy mashed potatoes. Yours might be macaroni and cheese, or pork BBQ, or fried pickles. Whatever your comfort food is, it is probably not on the light side. These dishes tend to be indulgences that should be enjoyed in moderation. But I want to have them all the time! So the next best thing to a traditional comfort food is one that has been lightened up a bit so you don’t have to feel so guilty for eating the leftovers a few nights in a row.

For this lightened up version of Mac & Cheese, I used a recipe from Eating Well as the base, then put my own spin on it. I like to call it Mexi Mac. Not to be confused with Sexy Sax, which is a completely different thing (NSFW?). I loved the addition of cottage cheese. The tart flavor played well with the sweet corn and mild heat of the green chilies. Don’t knock it ’til you’ve tried it!

Mexi Mac & Cheese (serves 4-6 as an entree and 6-8 as a side dish)

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons plain dry breadcrumbs

1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil

1/4 teaspoon paprika

1 3/4 cups low-fat milk, divided

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

2 cups shredded extra-sharp Cheddar cheese

1 cup low-fat small curd cottage cheese

1 1/2 cups corn, canned (and drained) or frozen (and thawed)

1 can ( 4 ounces) chopped green chilies

8 ounces (2 cups) whole wheat elbow macaroni

1/2 teaspoon dry mustard

1/4 teaspoon salt

Freshly ground pepper, to taste

Preparation:

Put a large pot of water on to boil. Preheat oven to 450°F. Coat a 2 quart or 3 quart baking dish with cooking spray.

Mix breadcrumbs, oil and paprika in a small bowl.

Heat 1 1/2 cups milk in a large heavy saucepan over medium-high heat until steaming. Whisk remaining 1/4 cup milk and flour in a small bowl until smooth; add to the hot milk and cook, whisking constantly, until the sauce simmers and thickens, 2 to 3 minutes.

Remove from heat and stir in Cheddar until melted. Stir in cottage cheese, corn, and chilies.

Cook pasta for 4-5 minutes, or until not quite tender (it will continue to cook during baking). Drain and add to the cheese sauce; mix well.

Add dry mustard, salt and pepper to taste and stir to combine. Transfer to baking dish and sprinkle with the breadcrumb mixture.

Bake the casserole until bubbly and golden, 25 to 30 minutes.

Have you ever made over a comfort food to be healthier? Now is a good time to do it, while you are sticking to your New Year Resolutions. I think a bowl of this could keep you from falling off the wagon for at least a few days. 😉

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2 thoughts on “Lighten up a Classic Comfort Food: Mexi Mac & Cheese”

I started adding cottage cheese to my lasagna (oddly enough, a suggestion made by the queen of comfort food herself, Ms. Paula Deen) and I LOVED it. If I could still eat milk and cheese, I’d love this recipe, too, I’m sure.

I had been having crazy cravings for chicken pot pie, and made a vegan version with seitan that was CRAZY good. I think it was really the white bean gravy that made it.